Hydrodynamical description of a hadron-quark first-order phase transition

TL;DR

This paper models the hadron-quark first-order phase transition using hydrodynamics with a Van der Waals type equation of state, revealing how viscosity affects fluctuation growth and the signals of critical points in heavy ion collisions.

Contribution

It introduces a hydrodynamical framework for describing the hadron-quark phase transition with a Van der Waals equation of state, emphasizing viscosity effects on fluctuation dynamics.

Findings

Viscosity suppresses fluctuation growth during the phase transition.

Fluctuations grow slowly even in the spinodal region due to critical slowing down.

Enhanced fluctuations are unlikely signals of the critical point in heavy ion collisions.

Abstract

Solutions of hydrodynamical equations are presented for the equation of state of the Var der Waals type allowing for the first order phase transition. Attention is focused on description of the hadron-quark phase transition in heavy ion collisions. It is shown that fluctuations dissolve and grow as if the fluid is effectively very viscous. Even in spinodal region germs are growing slowly due to viscosity and critical slowing down. This prevents enhancement of fluctuations in the near-critical region, which is frequently considered as a signal of the critical point in heavy ion collisions.